Children of the Sea
by Crisis Rose
Summary: How is it that what felt like yesterday their little girl was taking her first steps. Now, at the age of fifteen, Melody begins her search for a husband. How will Ariel and Eric react, and just how far is Melody prepared to go to find the right guy? A Little Mermaid fic for Emolichic1. Enjoy and please review! Rated T for upcoming chapters, just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Ariel and Eric walked arm in arm down the beach as they had done every evening since their wedding. A lot had changed since then, for they had become parents. The day Melody was born had been the happiest day in either of their lives. Thinking back to that day made Ariel smile. She had been so clueless. Luckily for her though, Eric had been there all the way through, holding her hand and uttering words of encouragement in her ear. In fact, thinking about it now, she wasn't sure what she would do without him. The Princess looked longingly out over the ocean, pulling her husband to a stop. He looked at her perplexed for a moment before following her gaze.

"Do you still miss it" asked Eric?

"Not as much as I used to" replied Ariel. Eric smiled slightly and drew Ariel into his arms. Ariel slipped her own arms around Eric's waist and rested her head against his chest as the two of them stared silently out across the ocean. It was true that since defeating Morgana three years ago the land and sea had become a lot closer; almost like one kingdom rather that two. This being so, Eric had been able to leave his own kingdom on several occasions, to visit his wife's home in Atlantica. Ariel and Melody visited Atlantica constantly, either together or separately. In the past, Melody wasn't allowed to go to Atlantica unless either Ariel or Eric went with her, but now that she was fifteen her parents had decided that she was old enough to go by herself. After all, the majority of her family lived there, so it wasn't as if she'd be alone.

After a few minutes of silence Ariel and Eric made their way back towards the palace. But as they were ascending the stairs to their home a sound in the water caught their attention. Curiosity caused both of them to turn around on the spot and almost as soon as they did a smile worked its way over Ariel's face.

"Daddy" she exclaimed, letting go of Eric's hands and running back down the few stairs to the beach! Triton chuckled and hugged Ariel and she ran through the shallow water to greet him, not caring about the hem of her dress getting wet. Eric smiled and returned to the beach, stopping just short of the water. Once Ariel had released her father, King Triton turned to Eric. The Prince bowed respectfully.

"And to what do we owe the pleasure sir" he asked, regaining his posture as Ariel returned to his side?

"I've come to talk to you about Melody" said Triton. Neither Eric nor Ariel spoke, so Triton took that as his que to continue. "I've been thinking a lot lately about my grand-daughter's future, and several young mermen have come to me asking for her hand in marriage." Ariel's mouth opened slightly and Eric's eyes widened in surprise. The silence remained for what seemed like hours before Ariel spoke.

"Daddy… it's not you they should be asking" she said.

"I understand that," said Triton, switching his gaze to Eric, "which is precisely why I thought I ought to tell you." All eyes were on Eric now.

"She's only fifteen" was all Eric could manage to say.

"I was sixteen when I married you Eric," said Ariel, "and the marrying age is slightly lower in Atlantica."

"And I've noticed that Melody's grown into quite a mature young woman" added Triton. Eric thought about it. As much as he hated to admit it, Melody had grown up, and everything being said by his wife and father-in-law was true. But when he looked at Melody he often still saw the small child she had once been, who had depended so much on him, and letting her go now was going to be difficult. But since Melody was born he'd known this time was coming and Ariel's father will have been through the same thing when he and Ariel were married. With a sigh, Eric lifted his head to meet Triton's eyes.

"If Melody wants to go ahead with it then its fine by me" he said, almost sadly.

"If I want to go ahead with what" came a voice from the palace. Ariel and Eric turned around to see their daughter stood at the bottom of the steps that led up to the palace. Her black/brown hair hung down her back in gentle waves and had been pinned up on one side with a small white bow. She wore a light blue strapless dress, which hugged her figure, showing off the curves of her breasts and hips. The hem stopped just above her knees at the front, but hung down at the back and fluttered behind her in an almost magical way. She reminded Eric so much Ariel, and at that point he realised that she wouldn't be his little girl forever.

"Darling, you'll soon be sixteen," began Ariel, "and… well, a lot of young men are interested in courting you."

"They want to marry _me_" asked Melody? Ariel nodded slowly, staring into her daughter's sea-green eyes and waiting for a reaction.

She needn't have worried. In only a matter of seconds Melody practically squealed in delight and threw her arms around her mother.

"What sort of boys," she asked excitedly? "How many have asked?"

"I'm not entirely sure," said Ariel, taking a step back from the excited teenager, "you ought to ask your grandfather." Melody turned her attention to King Triton and stared at him expectantly.

"Around a dozen" said Triton. Melody's smile stretched further and she spun round to face her parents again.

"Please can I go to Atlantica?" Ariel and Eric looked at each other before Ariel spoke again.

"Tomorrow darling; and you should know that both your father and I will be going with you." Melody just shrugged and hugged Triton quickly before running up the steps and disappearing into the palace.

"Well I think she took that rather well," said Triton, chuckling slightly. "I'll be here about midday tomorrow." And with that, the King disappeared under the waves. Ariel was about the return to the palace when she realised that Eric hadn't said a word since Melody had arrived on the scene.

"Eric" she asked, slipping her hand through her husbands? Eric met his wife's gaze slowly and managed a small smile. Just then a sudden realisation hit Ariel. A sudden realisation brought on by the hurt she saw in Eric's eyes. She sighed and extended onto her tip-toes to plant a kiss on Eric's cheek. "She won't stay a child forever" she said softly.

"I know" replied Eric, his sadness detectable in only two short words.


	2. Chapter 2

Melody practically sprinted to her bedroom. There were boys in Atlantica who want to marry her! Who actually liked her enough to want to spend their lives with her! She had never felt happier. Twirling round in the middle on the room she let her hair and her dress drift weightlessly around her before collapsing breathlessly onto her bed and staring up at the ceiling.

"Somebody's happy." A voice from outside her room caused Melody to sit up. Ariel was stood in the door frame smiling, the hem of her dress still slightly damp. Melody giggled and stood up before skipping gaily over to her vanity.

"Wouldn't you be" she asked, glancing her mother's way? Now there was something for Ariel to think about. In all honesty she didn't know whether she'd have been happy had her father decided to court her at age fifteen. Luckily for her, Melody didn't give her enough time to answer before she chirped up again.

"I knew I'd marry a merman; I get along so much better with Merfolk than with humans." Sadly, Ariel had to agree with that. Melody had very few friends on land, and those few friends she seldom saw. But this was made up by the large number of friends she had made in Atlantica. In fact that was the reason Melody spent so much time down there; she had always felt more comfortable as a mermaid, something that Ariel and Eric had discovered after her twelfth birthday party.

"I think I hoped you would." The words left Ariel mouth before she could even think, causing Melody to look at her oddly.

"How come" she asked?

"Well… I… I guess it's because it's a big part of you" said Ariel. Melody smiled and ran to hug her mother.

"I love you mum" she said.

"I love you too darling" replied Ariel.

After a minute the two of them separated and Ariel spoke again.

"Anyway, you get ready for bed, you've got a busy day tomorrow. We'll be leaving at about midday." Melody smiled, an expression that hadn't left her face since she'd come back from the beach.

"Night mum" she said.

"Good night Melody" replied Ariel, turning to leave, but being forced to stay when Melody called her name.

"Is dad coming up" asked the teenager?

"He should be in a minute" said Ariel.

As soon as her mum had left, Melody hurried to get ready for bed. Whilst she pulled her white nightgown over her head, she hummed to herself and before she knew it she was twirling round in circles again. But as she twirled, her foot got caught up in the dress she had just taken off and she lost her footing and fell backwards. But only centimetres before she hit the ground she was caught be a strong pair of arms. Blowing the hair out of her face she looked up into the worried blue eyes of her father.

"Hey dad" she said brightly!

"Honestly Melody, are you sure you're fifteen and not five" asked Eric, lifting his daughter to her feet? Melody just laughed in response and picked up her dress before draping in over the chair in the corner of her room.

"I bet you'd love that wouldn't you" she said? Eric raised one eyebrow and walked further into his daughter's room as she slipped between the pearly-white bed sheets and spread her hair around her on the pillow before patting the duvet as Eric's indication to sit with her. The pair simply looked at each other for a minute before Eric reached forward and gentle unclipped the bow from his daughter's hair, before placing in on her bed-side table. Melody smiled and sat up in her bed when she noticed the solemn look on her father's face, making him look older than he was.

"Dad, are you okay" she asked. Eric was brought back to his senses when Melody spoke up.

"I'm fine," he replied, taking Melody's hand in his own. "Sweetheart just promise me something." Melody nodded in response and waited for her father to continue.

"Just… promise me you won't rush into this. I don't want you to feel pressured to find someone straight away, these things take time" explained Eric. Melody smiled and kissed her father's cheek.

"I promise dad," she said, "I don't feel at all pressured, I really want to do this." Eric swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. Melody didn't know exactly what Eric was thinking but she knew her father well enough to know that he would do anything to protect her.

"Dad you'll always the best man in my life, and I'll be really lucky if I can find someone like you" she said, in an attempt to ease her father's worry. Eric smiled and pulled his daughter into his arms.

"Just find someone who makes you happy" he said.


End file.
